Make a Picture Book

 HOW TO DO IT

                              Spring was on the way and we needed something to keep us busy inside while the frozen New England ground thawed and we waited for the indoor seeds we planted to germinate! ( Look for a post on that project in March)  but for now, lets get  back to our Book Making Project...

You can do this! Even if you haven't gotten your hands dirty since kindergarten! It helps if you don't mind messes, don't care too much if the colors your kids paint things don't look like " the real thing"  and you  don't mind doing a page or two yourself, because the kids have decided to heck with you mom,  it's more fun to paint each other!

Ahhh... just thinking about those magical home schooling moments gets me feeling all warm and fuzzy.... Really, it does!

First things first... Choose a theme for your book! Make it easy on yourself and pick something you and your kids LOVE!  We LOVE growing things and anything to do with the ocean or beach and animals.

You might like: winter, fall, summer, things on a farm, farm animals, favorite animals, endangered species, astronomy, woods, rivers, oceans, buildings, boats, brothers, sisters,...This is the perfect "art" project to tie it into a unit study too! 

All you need to get started is a little INSPIRATION, IMAGINATION and a few art supplies! We got our inspiration from reading a few of the Eric Carle books.

Did you know he has his own museum dedicated to his wonderful picture book art ? Its' been on my  list of " places to go" for a field trip since we did this project. We'll get there one of these days!

 There's nothing like a good brainstorming session to get your creative juices going!
  Once we had our list of all things SPRING; crickets, birds, bees, butterflies, flowers, rain, fireflies, and inch-worms, we got out the paper- plates and started drawing loose shapes of each of them, then the kids cut them out and they were ready for decorating.

Crickets & bees

( Are those the cutest crickets you have ever seen ? )

Butterflies & flowers

 How about those MAGENTA raindrops in the back ground ? Love those!

 Colorful Firefly

( In the bright night sky )

Bird with aWORM  in a rainstorm

( Dark stormy sky)

                                                               Mr. Inchworm
                                                says, "thanks for looking !"

 Here are some of the supplies we used  to create our picture book~

Paper plates, poster paints, scissors, markers, glue stick, glitter glue, dot paints, 11x14 " poster board paper, hole punch, and yarn, raffia or ribbon for binding your Picture Book when you are finished.


We painted the back ground pages first. While they dry, decorate your cut out shapes then apply them to your book pages with glue stick ! Once your book is completely dried ,punch holes along the side and tie it together with your chosen binding material.


Congratulations! You're finished! You  have created a unique piece of artwork with your children, and made memories that will last a lifetime. I still  pull ours out each spring and place it where we can all enjoy it!

Something to think about~  When you observe things closely in nature, you will notice that beetles are brightly colored and their wings are iridescent, like many insects. Flowers, leaves and grasses are painted with a multitude of colors from the most subtle soft pinkish white on a cherry blossom to the boldest vibrant red in a rose or lily. The way the colors change in the sky from minute to minute are endless. When you paint, remember to have fun and go with your instincts. You can always be confident in your color choices when you  know that in nature all colors are present and accounted for! If it makes your heart go  pitter- patter, you'll know your on the right track!

 Have fun dreaming up ideas and designs for your own version of this fun project to do with your young ones!

When you're finished with your Picture Book send us a pic or two and we'll share them with our readers!